Gerald Gaxiola - 75 Year Old Bodybuilder

In 1960, at age 24, I started weightlifting and bodybuilding because I was skinny and underweight. In a few years I started to gain weight and muscle. In Sept. 1968 I was on the cover of Strength & Health magazine. Then in 1970 I gave it all up to devote my life to art. I never touched a weight or did any other form of exercise for the next forty years, instead I did what most artists do, I smoked, drank, (moderately) and ate whatever was at hand. I paid no attention to my diet or my health. Then in 2009 at age 72, as the effects of this lifestyle began to show and my body began to succumb to the ravages of old age, I decided to begin a weight training regimen to see if I could undo some of the harm I had done to myself.

So, inspired by the Marathon Monks of Mt Hiei, I started what I call a Muscle Marathon, a seven year, 6 days a week body rebuilding regimen using free weights. It includes a special high protein, low calorie diet with a daily protein and calorie count and photographs of each dinner showing size of portions. It also includes a daily weigh in with body weight tracked on daily weight charts.

I am now 75 and in the fourth year of my marathon. I am very pleased with the results, they are surprisingly good considering my advanced age. I keep a blog which I update every year in March. I talk about all the problems and successes I’ve had during the year, plus I talk about what diet works for me. I also post my training routine, what injuries I‘ve had, what exercises I have to avoid doing, etc., etc.

Thanks for the inspiring story, Gerald. I'm 62 and in good shape "for my age" but thought that muscle mass I lost from dieting and concentrating almost exclusively on cardio was gone forever and impossible to replace. You're living proof that it's possible to rebuild the body at any age. Thanks for your story. I hope to share a post down the line detailing my own rebuild success. Tom

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